Internet gambling regulation fails - News - Business

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This story was printed from ZDNet Australia.
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Internet gambling regulation fails

By James Pearce, ZDNet Australia
February 06, 2002
URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/business/soa/Internet-gambling-regulation-fails/0,139023166,120263318,00.htm

Regulation of the Internet has failed to prevent online gambling, according to a survey funded by the Australian Casino Foundation.

The year long survey found that 40 percent of online gamblers visited overseas sites. According to Chris Downy, executive director of the Australian Casino Association, this proves the federal government's Interactive Gambling Act is not preventing Internet gambling.

-This research proves that Australians are actively visiting offshore casino-type gaming websites which are clearly not subject to the same stringent regulation as Australia," said Downy.

Mr Downy also noted that the survey showed an increase in the number of online gambling sites visited by Australians had increased by 38 percent between February and December last year, despite legislation introduced during July last year.

-The level of interest in online gaming remained relatively consistent throughout the year and actually increased in July 2001, at the same time as the introduction of the Interactive Gambling Act" he said.

The Interactive Gambling Act makes it illegal to provide interactive gambling services to anyone in Australia. The Act targets 'real-time' gambling, such as online poker machines and card games, but allows online wagering, such as horse racing, as long as the race hasn't actually started.

A spokesman for Communications and Information Technology Minister Senator Richard Alston has said the legislation is designed to limit accessibility to online casino gambling and it has been successful in doing that.